Yoga Contributions by maria_rn

Sukashana

This basic yoga pose is a good meditation pose for beginners. Sukhasana opens the hips, lengthens the spine, relieves tiredness and and promotes inner calm.

• Sit down on the floor or a mat. Cross your legs, placing your feet below your knees.
• Rest your hands on your with the palms facing up
• Keep your head and body straight. Imagine your spine as a straight line ending in the top of your head.
• Breathe deeply.
• Hold the pose for 1 to 3 minutes.

Lighning bolt pose or Uktasana

Utkatasana means“raised posture.” This pose relieves shoulder stiffness, strengthens the legs and ankles, lifts the diaphragm, tones the back and stomach, and develops your chest. It also warms up the body.

• Stand with feet together, your back straight, and hands at the sides of your body.
• Bend your knees. Keep your feet together or slightly apart.
• Straighten your arms overhead, with your palms together. Your arms should be in line with your torso
• Lean slightly forward. Concentrate on your balance. Your body should look like a lightning bolt from the side.
• Breathe deeply
• Hold the pose for 5 breaths then slowly go back to the starting position

Yoga promotes relaxation, reduce reduces anxiety, and help you cope with stress. Some yoga poses are thought to improve gastrointestinal symptoms. Although it has many health benefits, it is still important to remember that yoga is should not replace conventional therapies for any disorder. Always check with your doctor before starting any exercise.

Seated spinal twist

This yoga pose allows you to stretch the entire length of your spine.

1 Start in a sitting position with your legs extended. Bring your right foot on the outside of your left knee. The right foot must be flat on the floor.

2 Hold your right foot with your right hand. Extend your left arm out in front of you

Swing your left arm to the side and all the way to the back. Place it as close to the center of the back, if possible. Turn your torso to the direction of your left arm, this will engage the spine in a twist. Breathe deeply and relax the muscles.

Side angle pose.

This pose strengthens the thigh area.

1 Stand with feet about 4 ft. apart. Turn the right foot out about 90 degrees and the foot in 45 degrees.

2 Slowly bend your right knee, keeping the knee directly over the toes. Rest your right forearm to the bent right knee and extend your left arm alongside the left ear. The extended arm should not be pointed straight up toward the ceiling. You should focus on keeping a continuous diagonal line from the back left foot to the extended left arm. You may either look down to the mat or gaze upward to the extended fingers.

3 Try not to tense or sink in your lower shoulder. If its to difficult to rest your right forearm on your thigh, you may place it on a stool, this will relieve some weight off your front leg.

4 Hold the pose for one or two breaths during first sessions, you may increase up to 5 full breaths over time.

5 Repeat on the other side.

Wrist bending

This yoga exercise helps improve the range of motion of your wrists through stretching and bending.

1 Sit on the floor or yoga mat.

2 Straighten your hand in front of you at shoulder height, parallel to the floor

3 Turn your palm down and extend your fingers and thumb forward and close together.

4 Inhale as you bend your hand at the wrist backward as if you are pressing hard against an object.

5 Exhale as you bend your hand down at the wrist. With this movement, you will feel a slight pull all the way to your forearm.

6 Repeat eight times, then do it with your other hand. After some practice, you will be do wrist bending with both hands at the same time.

The use of yoga dates back to 2000 years ago. It involves a variety of poses and movements that boost the mind's capacity to concentrate and at the same time promotes physical conditioning. With Yoga, a person's physical and mental well being can be greatly enhanced.

Yoga poses can help strengthen the joints and improve their function, thus reducing the risk of stiffness.

1. "Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Efficacy of Iyengar Yoga Therapy on Chronic Low Back Pain."
2. Williams, Kimberly, Abildso, Christiaan, Steinberg, Lois, Doyle, Edward, Epstein, Beverly, Smith, David, Hobbs, Gerry, Gross, Richard, Kelley, George, Cooper, Linda.
3. Schatz, M. Back Care Basics: A Doctor's Gentle Yoga Program for Back and Neck Pain Relief
4. Budilovsky, J. Adamson, E. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga
4. Vad, V., Hinzmann, H. 2004. Back RX: A 15-Minute-a-Day Yoga- and Pilates-Based Program to End Low Back Pain. Gotham
6. http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/471
7. http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/yogapractice/doublelegraises.asp
8. http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/boat.htm

Yoga involves physical poses that are done with controlled breathing to promote relaxation of your mind and body. This form of mental and physical discipline began thousands of years ago in India. The word yoga was derived from a Sanskrit word which means to yoke or unify. With yoga, you unite your mind and body by focusing on carrying out quiet and precise movements that require balance as well as concentration. Uniting you mind with your body will boost your mental and physical health.

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Yoga on Beach

Stretching joints and muscles to their limits combined with relaxing breathing techniques will help reduce strain on muscles and joints. For this reason, yoga can be included in back pain management.

There are many yoga poses to relieve the tension and pain in our back. However, some poses can be strenuous and may result in back strain. Before giving yoga a try, it's best to check first with your doctor who could tell you if you need to avoid. It is also important to find out which yoga exercises will be the most helpful for your condition. Work with a trained yoga instructor who can help you choose the poses that will suit you best. A yoga pose should be held from five to ten seconds, depending on your level of comfort. Below are some of the yoga positions for relieving back pain:

Cobra pose. This position focuses on allowing your spine to move you. It helps align the discs on you spine and strengthen your back.

1. Lie flat on your stomach and stretch your legs back with your heels and toes together
2. Place your hand on the floor under your shoulders, keep your elbows in toward your body.
3. Press your feet, thighs and hips firmly into the floor.
4. As you breathe in, lift your chin and the your shoulders. Refrain from crunching your shoulders up your neck.
5. Lift the upper part of your chest off the floor, but avoid pushing you ribs forward because it may harder your lower back. The back bend must be distributed evenly throughout your spine.
6. Look upwards and hold the pose for 15 to 30 seconds, breathing easily. Go back to the starting position on an exhalation.

Leg lifts

It strengthens the abdominal and lower back muscles. Doing this exercise helps trim the waist and thighs. To get the most benefit from this Yoga Posture, make sure that the full length of your back is resting on the floor and your shoulders and neck are relaxed.

1. Lie flat on the floor.
2. As you breathe in, raise both legs, keeping your knees straight and your buttocks on the floor.
3. Breathe out as you bring both legs straight down. To avoid any injuries, make sure that your lower back is kept flat on the floor while you bring you legs down.

Boat pose

This pose tones your abdomen and strengthens your back. When the boat pose, you should not hold your breath even if you are concentrating on your balance. You also need to keep your knees together

1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent in front of you
2. Bring your legs straight up to a 45 degree angle
3. Your torso will naturally lean back, but you should not let your spine collapse. Balance on your tail bone. Your body should make a V shape
4. To help with balance, bring your arms straight out parallel to the floor at about your knee level.
5. Stay in the pose for about 10-20 seconds while breathing easily. Release your legs as you exhale and sit upright as you inhale. [2]: image/2 "Yoga on Beach"